Toothbrushes are proven to be important for the general health and dental health of an individual. Because of the intimacy that the user shares with this particular product, the toothbrush can be a factor which promotes or extends illnesses. Because of their frequent wet nature, the portion of the brush that the user places in his/her mouth may harbor pathogens. Even a brush used exclusively by a healthy individual may have an unhealthy germ build-up over a period of time. Such germs may come from the user's own mouth and/or from the environment in which the toothbrush is kept between uses.
Most toothbrushes are kept in bathrooms, which are often fertile environments for germs. In addition to being wet, it is difficult to remove all traces of food particles from a brush after usage. These organic particles may serve as a culture for the promotion of molds and bacteria. In addition to between usage cleanliness, there is a need to ensure brushes are clean prior to their initial use. Regulations do not currently exist to require a particular level of sterilization or sanitation of toothbrushes prior to packaging and sale.
Accordingly, there is a great need for a device that effectively sanitizes toothbrushes before and between uses by consumers. And, in fact, inventions that attempt to achieve this have been known in the literature for over a century. The vast majority of these inventions involve a toothbrush and chamber. The user returns the brush to the chamber between uses. Within the chamber resides a sterilization means. Over the years, the exact nature of this sterilization means has changed—sometimes due to technology advancements, while other times due to efficacy, safety, manufacturing cost, or convenience.
TABLE 1The table below lists several inventions thatare typical of various sterilization means.Patent No.Issue Date orSterilizationor SNPublication DateInventorMeans615,3576 Dec. 1898GuilfoyleGas blanket757,8853 Aug. 1903CochkaneLiquidimmersion2,579,24218 Dec. 1951PaskUltravioletlamp3,342,54418 Sep. 1963RaymondAerosol orliquid spray3,884,63520 May 1975SloanDryer4,400,35723 Aug. 1983HoffmanAutoclave5,725,0919 Mar. 1994KnoebelVacuum
One undesirable aspect of some of the prior art is that they necessitate the bristles of the brush, or a portion of the brush in close proximity to the bristles which re-enters the user's mouth and touches on some part of the sterilization chamber, on insertion, extraction, or during the sterilization process. This undesirable contact could transfer pathogens or debris from the chamber back onto the brush and vice/versa. This causes a cross-contamination, going back-and-forth, with some residual pathogens or debris always remaining in the system. An example of this type of invention can be seen in Athon, U.S. Pat. No. 1,696,706. This invention relies on the bristles to be in frictional contact with the inside of the chamber, in order to keep the brush from falling out. Similarly, Farrar U.S. Pat. No. 2,592,131 creates a lip on which the bristles rest. The following inventions all suffer from this undesirable contact.
TABLE 2The prior art with similar problems (as mentioned above).Pat # or SNIssue or Publ. DateInventor615,3576 Dec. 1898Guilfoyle1,070,85819 Aug. 1913Trayne1,262,4659 Apr. 1918Dohrmann1,283,40329 Oct. 1918Eustis1,486,95718 Mar. 1924England1,696,70625 Dec. 1928Athon1,743,64613 Jan. 1926Alderman2,099,33616 Nov. 1937Hart2,180,21313 Nov. 1935Willis2,280,43120 Apr. 1938Hart2,457,50028 Dec. 1948Seandura2,554,15622 May 1951Rosenthal2,592,1318 Apr. 1952Farrar2,817,10424 Dec. 1957Hartzell3,100,84213 Aug. 1963Tellefsen3,114,03810 Dec. 1963Meader3,342,54418 Sep. 1963Raymond3,309,15914 Mar. 1967Le Sueur3,353,90521 Nov. 1967Douglas3,574,87913 Apr. 1971Werding3,741,37826 Jun. 1973Parker3,748,09423 Jul. 1969Scheidell3,955,92211 May 1976Moulthrop4,088,4459 May 1978Ellis4,473,15225 Sep. 1984Jump4,585,11928 Apr. 1982Boyinton4,816,64828 Mar. 1989Dusbabek4,915,2199 Apr. 1986Ottimo4,995,50926 Feb. 1991Kornfeind5,126,57230 Jun. 1992Chu5,690,21424 Nov. 1993Gaines5,922,29213 Jul. 1999Duczek5,960,8015 Oct. 1999Vermooten6,565,81919 May 1999Herrera6,728,9904 May 2004Jones7,063,82220 Jun. 2006Goertz7,213,6038 May 2007Pinsky7,511,28331 Mar. 2009Chor7,581,63831 Aug. 2005Shaw7,838,84622 Nov. 2006Pinsky2004/0155201 A112 Aug. 2004Russell2005/0276736 A115 Dec. 2005Miller2006/0011209 A119 Jan. 2006Mehes2006/0204416 A114 Sep. 2006Hayes2007/0295916 A127 Dec. 2007ReubenDE 19606136 A121 Aug. 1997Fritz
Many of the prior art inventions necessitate the user to perform additional actions to put the brush into the chamber, remove it, or activate the sterilization cycle. For example, Fowler U.S. Pat. No. 1,074,169 teaches an enclosure that fully encloses the brush. In order to insert the brush or to remove it, the user needs to open a door to gain access. This can be inconvenient if the user is already holding a container of dentifrice in one hand. Thompson U.S. Pat. No. 1,553,648 is a typical of a class of solutions where the brush can be accessed without opening a door. In these solutions the seal between the chamber and the brush assembly is accomplished by the use of a compliant stopper or a compliant chamber. The user then needs to either hold onto the chamber to keep it steady while extracting the brush or the chamber needs to be mounted to a fixed surface, e.g., a wall. Mounting is an additional action that can be inconvenient or impractical in many environments. MacShane U.S. Pat. No. 1,708,423 requires the user to perform a separate action in order to start the sterilization process.
TABLE 3The following inventions all suffer from the effect that the userneeds to perform an additional action in order to load the brushinto the chamber, remove it, or start the sterilization process.Patent # or SNIssue or Publ. DateINVENTOR757,8853 Aug. 1903Cochkane827,30831 Jul. 1906Hitch880,43225 Feb. 1908Weidhaas1,051,43328 Jan. 1913Moseley1,062,96127 May 1913Funcke1,074,16930 Sep. 1913Fowler1,122,88129 Dec. 1914Dye1,212,33516 Jan. 1917Fineberg1,278,78910 Sep. 1918Thompson1,283,40329 Oct. 1918Eustis1,303,88420 May 1919Goodnow1,336,3456 Apr. 1920Lackey1,364,5574 Jan. 1921Hurley1,448,23113 Mar. 1923Morrison1,451,42510 Apr. 1923Hurley1,507,4662 Sep. 1924Collins1,553,64815 Sep. 1925Thompson1,562,34817 Nov. 1925Lockery1,625,20219 Apr. 1927Gindick1,708,4239 Apr. 1929MacShane1,811,73223 Jun. 1931Pfeifer1,981,3838 Jan. 1935Feldon1,987,4728 Jan. 1935Feldon2,099,33616 Nov. 1937Hart2,180,21314 Nov. 1939Peake2,195,9352 Apr. 1940Nuyts2,280,43121 Apr. 1942Hart2,424,03615 Jul. 1947Jackel2,457,50028 Dec. 1948Seandura2,554,15622 May 1951Rosenthal2,579,24218 Dec. 1951Pask2,584,04229 Jan. 1952Ober2,587,13126 Feb. 1952Ficken2,592,1318 Apr. 1952Farrar2,817,10424 Dec. 1957Hartzell2,822,4764 Feb. 1958Osgood3,114,03810 Dec. 1963Meader3,207,29621 Sep. 1965Goodall3,309,15914 Mar. 1967Le Sueur3,342,54419 Sep. 1967Curiel3,683,63815 Aug. 1972Devon3,748,09424 Jul. 1973Scheidell3,820,25128 Jun. 1974Abernathy3,881,8686 May 1975Duke3,884,63520 May 1975Sloan3,904,3629 Sep. 1975Dipaolo3,954,4074 May 1976Andary3,955,92211 May 1976Moulthrop4,214,65729 Jul. 1980Winston4,400,35723 Aug. 1983Hoffman4,552,72812 Nov. 1985Taylor4,570,65218 Feb. 1986Chavez4,625,11925 Nov. 1986Murdock4,740,70626 Apr. 1988Murdock4,759,38326 Jul. 1988Phillips4,803,3647 Feb. 1989Ritter4,806,77021 Feb. 1989Hylton4,816,64828 Mar. 1989Dusbabek4,845,85911 Jul. 1989Evans4,884,6885 Dec. 1989Hurst4,888,48719 Dec. 1989Ritter4,906,8516 Mar. 1990Beasley4,950,90221 Aug. 1990Ritter4,973,84727 Nov. 1990Lackey4,997,6295 Mar. 1991Marchand5,023,46011 Jun. 1991Foster5,086,91611 Feb. 1992Gray5,107,98728 Apr. 1992Palazzolo5,127,5217 Jul. 1992Bourque5,295,57522 Mar. 1994Gonzalez5,377,8243 Jan. 1995Seymour5,402,8104 Apr. 1995Donley5,405,58711 Apr. 1995Fernandez5,487,87730 Jan. 1996Choi5,566,82322 Oct. 1996Summers5,620,62215 Apr. 1997Lang5,692,6032 Dec. 1997Stotesbury5,725,09110 Mar. 1998Knoebel5,772,01530 Jun. 1998Musiel5,852,87929 Dec. 1998Schumaier5,882,61316 Mar. 1999Gipson5,919,4166 Jul. 1999Auger5,922,29213 Jul. 1999Duczek5,960,8015 Oct. 1999Vermooten6,099,8138 Aug. 2000Gipson6,119,85419 Sep. 2000Prentice6,135,27924 Oct. 2000Dryer6,213,77710 Apr. 2001Seitzinger6,253,7733 Jul. 2001Ingemann6,360,88426 Mar. 2002Smith6,558,6406 May 2003Nottingham6,601,6995 Aug. 2003Naredo6,702,1139 Mar. 2004Marino6,753,53722 Jun. 2004Woo6,874,2475 Apr. 2005Hsu6,966,44122 Nov. 2005Barham6,967,33722 Nov. 2005Fonowich7,063,82220 Jun. 2006Goertz7,213,6038 May 2007Pinsky7,951,34331 May 2011Davis8,399,85329 Mar. 2013Roiniotis2002/0031461 A114 Mar. 2002Knipp2002/0121449 A15 Sep. 2002Bowie2004/01295808 Jul. 2004Cochran2004/0134800 A115 Jul. 2004Pigeon2004/015520112 Aug. 2004Russell2004/0155201 A112 Aug. 2004Russell2004/0159330 A119 Aug. 2004Anemone20050274906 A115 Dec. 2005Riddell2006/0204416 A114 Sep. 2006Hayes20080219883 A111 Sep. 2008Thur20090322190 A131 Dec. 2009KitagawaUS201201384917 Jun. 2012GossJP H09-225012, A2 Sep. 1997KYOJIJP H11-318566, A24 Nov. 1999KASAI KUNIOCN 202801404 U20 Mar. 2013ZhangEP0925794 A230 Jun. 1999Beghelli
Hecker U.S. Pat. No. 6,123,477 teaches a sterilizer that does not include a chamber. In this invention, a second brush is used to wipe down the bristles of the toothbrush. This has the obvious shortcoming that the toothbrush is exposed to the ambient environment between sterilizations instead of being protected in a chamber. In addition, the efficacy seems highly dependent on user technique. It also is only focused on sterilization of the bristles as opposed to conditioning of all the surfaces that will enter the user's mouth.
TABLE 4The table below lists inventions that teach self-contained toothbrushsterilization and have the shortcomings described above.Patent No. or SNIssue/Publ. DateINVENTOR2,527,74131 Oct. 1950Lamonde5,832,94010 Nov. 1998Embry6,123,47726 Sep. 2000Hecker6,669,39030 Dec. 2003Porter8,168,9631 May 2012Ratcliffe
Lamonde, Embry, and Porter do not teach sterilization. These inventions deliver dentifrice or mouthwash. However, a sterilization fluid could be envisioned as a substitute for the dentifrice.
In all of the prior inventions that include a sterilization chamber, there is either contact between elements of the toothbrush that the user puts into his or her mouth (mentioned previously), or there exists portions of the chamber immediately below the bristles and toothbrush shaft that enter the mouth. The disadvantage with this is that fluid or particles that fall off the brush end up inside the chamber. Since the brush is put into the chamber immediately after usage, it goes in loaded with a certain amount of water. A drop of two of this water can fall off the brush, bringing along with it food particles, dentifrice, or even pathogens that have come from the user's mouth or the environment around the brush.
Some of the inventions allow for the presence of a dryer in order to drive water from the chamber (e.g. Choi U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,877). Even if the water is driven from the chamber, the particles contained within the water will remain behind. At best, this will lead to a buildup of particulates in the chamber requiring frequent cleanings. At worst, it may become a breeding ground for germs exposing the brush to a more adverse environment than if it had never entered the chamber. Many of the prior inventions rely on a completely closed chamber to ensure the sterilization means does not leak into the surrounding environment (e.g., Hurley U.S. Pat. No. 1,364,557, Eckhardt U.S. Pat. No. 6,461,568, and Barham U.S. Pat. No. 6,966,441).
Thus, in summary, the prior art (shown below) are design patents, or are not toothbrush sterilizers, or have some disadvantages with respect to our invention described here in this disclosure.
TABLE 5List of the related prior art, which, e.g., do not have the advantagesof our invention (described here in this disclosure).Patent No. or SNIssue/Public. DateINVENTOR615,3576 Dec. 1898Guilfoyle757,8853 Aug. 1903Cochkane827,30831 Jul. 1906Hitch880,43225 Feb. 1908Weidhaas942,05827 Feb. 1909DeGowin1,050,86421 Jan. 1913Smith1,051,43328 Jan. 1913Moseley1,062,96127 May 1913Funcke1,070,85819 Aug. 1913Trayne1,074,16930 Sep. 1913Fowler1,079,61825 Nov. 1913Trayne1,122,88129 Dec. 1914Dye1,137,65127 Apr. 1915Metivier1,212,33516 Jan. 1917Fineberg1,262,4659 Apr. 1918Dohrmann1,278,78910 Sep. 1918Thompson1,283,40329 Oct. 1918Eustis1,303,88420 May 1919Goodnow1,336,3456 Apr. 1920Lackey1,364,5574 Jan. 1921Hurley1,424,4341 Aug. 1922Ausubel1,448,23113 Mar. 1923Morrison1,451,42510 Apr. 1923Hurley1,480,81415 Jan. 1924Bright1,486,95718 Mar. 1924England1,507,4662 Sep. 1924Collins1,553,64815 Sep. 1925Thompson1,562,34817 Nov. 1925Lockery1,584,26111 May 1926Vuolo1,588,78115 Jun. 1926Stoddard1,625,20219 Apr. 1927Gindick1,696,70625 Dec. 1928Athon1,708,4239 Apr. 1929MacShane1,713,37914 May 1929Fromwiller1,743,64613 Jan. 1926Alderman1,811,73223 Jun. 1931Pfeifer1,981,3838 Jan. 1935Feldon1,987,4728 Jan. 1935Feldon2,046,6067 Jul. 1936Borba2,099,33616 Nov. 1937Hart2,180,21314 Nov. 1939Frederick Willis2,195,9352 Apr. 1940Hippolyte2,280,43121 Apr. 1942Hart2,424,036Jul. 15, 1947Victor2,448,603Sep. 7, 1948Thomas D. Kevin2,457,500Dec. 28, 1948Seandura2,527,741Oct. 31, 1950Lamonde2,554,156May 22, 1951Rosenthal2,579,242Dec. 18, 1951Pask2,584,04229 Jan. 1952Ober2,587,131Feb. 26, 1952Ficken2,592,1318 Apr. 1952Farrar2,608,29426 Aug. 1952Ward2,817,10424 Dec. 1957Hartzell2,822,4764 Feb. 1958Osgood3,100,84213 Aug. 1963Tellefsen3,114,03810 Dec. 1963Meader3,207,29621 Sep. 1965Goodall3,321,79630 May 1967Lelicoff3,309,15914 Mar. 1967Le Sueur3,342,54419 Sep. 1967Curiel3,353,90521 Nov. 1967Douglas3,371,26027 Feb. 1968Jackson3,538,61610 Nov. 1970Mailing3,574,87913 Apr. 1971Werding3,683,63815 Aug. 1972Devon3,727,74817 Apr. 1973Brown3,741,378Jun. 26, 1973Parker3,746,162Jul. 17, 1973Bridges3,748,09424 Jul. 1973Scheidell3,820,251Jun. 28, 1974Abernathy3,881,868May 6, 1975Duke3,884,635May 20, 1975Sloan3,904,362Sep. 9, 1975Dipaolo3,954,407May 4, 1976Andary3,955,922May 11, 1976Moulthrop4,021,197May 3, 1977Brooks4,088,445May 9, 1978Ellis4,121,107Oct. 17, 1978Bachmann4,121,600Oct. 24, 1978Riddick4,135,269Jan. 23, 1979Laurel L. Marston4,214,65729 Jul. 1980Winston4,219,03526 Aug. 1980Deconinck4,400,35723 Aug. 1983Hoffman4,473,15225 Sep. 1984Jump4,552,72812 Nov. 1985Taylor4,570,65218 Feb. 1986Chavez4,585,11929 Apr. 1986Boyington4,625,11925 Nov. 1986Murdock4,740,70626 Apr. 1988Murdock4,756,41212 Jul. 1988Graves4,759,38326 Jul. 1988Phillips4,803,3647 Feb. 1989Ritter4,806,77021 Feb. 1989Hylton4,816,64828 Mar. 1989Dusbabek4,817,8264 Apr. 1989Judge4,845,85911 Jul. 1989Evans4,884,6885 Dec. 1989Hurst4,888,48719 Dec. 1989Ritter4,906,8516 Mar. 1990Beasley4,915,21910 Apr. 1990Ottimo4,950,90221 Aug. 1990Ritter4,973,84727 Nov. 1990Lackey4,978,00318 Dec. 1990Foster4,995,50926 Feb. 1991Kornfeind4,995,51126 Feb. 1991Evans4,997,6295 Mar. 1991Marchand5,017,79021 May 1991Kojima5,023,46011 Jun. 1991Foster5,086,91611 Feb. 1992Gray5,107,98728 Apr. 1992Palazzolo5,126,57230 Jun. 1992Chu5,127,5217 Jul. 1992Bourque5,139,14218 Aug. 1992Simon5,145,0958 Sep. 1992Loudon5,215,1931 Jun. 1993Dennis5,295,57522 Mar. 1994Gonzalez5,333,7422 Aug. 1994Piedmont5,377,8243 Jan. 1995Seymour5,402,8104 Apr. 1995Donley5,405,58711 Apr. 1995Fernandez5,409,84125 Apr. 1995Chow5,487,87730 Jan. 1996Choi5,502,9002 Apr. 1996Hui5,522,4974 Jun. 1996Stacy5,566,82322 Oct. 1996Summers5,611,20618 Mar. 1997Sargent5,620,62215 Apr. 1997Lang5,630,50520 May 1997Garcia5,660,28526 Aug. 1997Tooma5,662,1302 Sep. 1997Wiltshire5,690,21425 Nov. 1997Gaines5,692,6032 Dec. 1997Stotesbury5,701,92130 Dec. 1997Father5,725,09110 Mar. 1998Knoebel5,772,01530 Jun. 1998Musiel5,832,94010 Nov. 1998Embry5,852,87929 Dec. 1998Schumaier5,865,1952 Feb. 1999Carter5,881,87616 Mar. 1999Nonomura5,882,61316 Mar. 1999Gipson5,919,4166 Jul. 1999Auger5,922,29213 Jul. 1999Duczek5,960,8015 Oct. 1999Vermooten6,099,8138 Aug. 2000Gipson6,119,85419 Sep. 2000Prentice6,123,47726 Sep. 2000Hecker6,135,27924 Oct. 2000Dryer6,142,3187 Nov. 2000Tooma6,186,32413 Feb. 2001Catterson6,213,77710 Apr. 2001Seitzinger6,253,7733 Jul. 2001Ingemann6,360,88426 Mar. 2002Smith6,488,9423 Dec. 2002Ingemann6,461,5688 Oct. 2002Eckhardt6,558,6406 May 2003Nottingham6,565,81920 May 2003Herrera6,601,6995 Aug. 2003Naredo6,669,39030 Dec. 2003Porter6,702,1139 Mar. 2004Marino6,722,49820 Apr. 2004Westfield6,728,9904 May 2004Jones6,769,8283 Aug. 2004Clark6,753,53722 Jun. 2004Woo6,782,99931 Aug. 2004McCoy6,861,0471 Mar. 2005Carnell6,874,2475 Apr. 2005Hsu6,935,51530 Aug. 2005Sookoo6,966,44122 Nov. 2005Barham6,967,33722 Nov. 2005Fonowich7,063,82220 Jun. 2006Goertz7,204,95717 Apr. 2007Tozer7,213,6038 May 2007Pinsky7,452,71418 Nov. 2008Eversdijk7,484,6293 Feb. 2009Cottrell7,511,28331 Mar. 2009Chor7,547,89316 Jun. 2009Tantillo7,581,6381 Sep. 2009Shaw7,838,84623 Nov. 2010Pinsky7,856,73828 Dec. 2010Camacho7,888,65615 Feb. 2011Freedgood7,951,34331 May 2011Davis8,168,9631 May 2012Ratcliffe8,235,6197 Aug. 2012Meredith8,399,853Mar. 29, 2013Roiniotis2002/0031461 A1Mar. 14, 2002Knipp2002/0121449 A1Sep. 5, 2002Bowie2004/0129580Jul. 8, 2004Cochran2004/0134800 A1Jul. 15, 2004Pigeon2004/0155201Aug. 12, 2004Russell2004/0155201 A112 Aug. 2004Russell2004/0159330 A1Aug. 19, 2004Anemone20050274906 A115 Dec. 2005Riddell2005/0276736 A115 Dec. 2005Miller2006/0011209 A119 Jan. 2006Mehes2006/0204416 A114 Sep. 2006Hayes2007/0056864 A115 Mar. 2007Cottrell20070295916 A127 Dec. 2007Reuben20080219883 A111 Sep. 2008Thur20090322190 A131 Dec. 2009KitagawaUS201201384917 Jun. 2012GossJP H09-225012, A2 Sep. 1997KYOJIJP H11-318566, A24 Nov. 1999KASAI KUNIODE 19606136 A121 Aug. 1997FritzCN 202801404 U20 Mar. 2013ZhangEP0925794 A230 Jun. 1999BeghelliD2315937 May 1974OckermanD3010972 Dec. 1983MorrisD31987510 Sep. 1991LackeyD32719523 Jun. 1992MurphyD32780014 Jul. 1992HollingerD33639815 Jun. 1993ShaferD33720613 Jul. 1993CrawfordD3569154 Apr. 1995TorresD37081218 Jun. 1996SimmondsD3975741 Sep. 1998GlentonD40561316 Feb. 1999KrainskyD42282218 Apr. 2000CayouetteD44009010 Apr. 2001LillelundD4431585 Jun. 2001NgD46894521 Jan. 2003DretzkaD47823012 Aug. 2003DretzkaD48157220 May 2003DretzkaD48222218 Nov. 2003DretzkaD5026238 Mar. 2005MinardD52367427 Jun. 2006StarckD52746129 Aug. 2006YueD52833419 Sep. 2006StarckD53094931 Oct. 2006SnellD53181114 Nov. 2006CochranD53843713 Mar. 2007YueD5395823 Apr. 2008StarckD54292915 May 2007ShinD54293015 May 2007ShinD5437505 Jun. 2007HinesD54506226 Jun. 2007NagoyaD54902421 Aug. 2007FuentesD6263642 Nov. 2010FretwellD64853915 Nov. 2011WaiD65798624 Apr. 2012Climer
However, the invention and embodiments described here, below, have not been addressed or presented, in any prior art, including all the above, with all the advantages mentioned here.